


Worth Redeeming

by trashywrites



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Drug Use, For the most part, Friendship, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Redemption, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, Violence, Work In Progress, everyone gets along in the story, slow build friendship, the main character is not good at making friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-05-28 20:24:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15057098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashywrites/pseuds/trashywrites
Summary: "Didn’t realize Iron Man got his community service hours in by visiting prisoners. Here to offer to be my pen pal?” She snapped.“Even better. I’m here to offer you your freedom.” He smiled as her facade dropped for the second time. Sienna’s heart skipped a beat and her stomached leapt to her throat.“What the hell are you talking about?” She asked hoarsely.Sienna Mills is offered a new life by Tony Stark. She'd be released from prison, all charges brought against her would be dropped, her record would be scrubbed clean, and she would never again have to worry about where her next meal was coming from. However, she can't help but wonder if what Stark was offering was too good to be true. He offered everything she could've ever wanted, except her freedom. Is it worth trading one cage for another?





	1. Chapter 1

_ “Listen kid, I don’t know what else to do for you. You’re brilliant, I have your standardized tests right here,” Mr. Gruhenhald jabbed at the stack of papers on his desk, “you’re in the top 10% of the state, but you’re barely a ‘C’ average student! I don’t understand it! You’re one of the brightest students this school has ever seen but you’re not applying yourself! You’re not doing anything with the intelligence you’ve been gifted!” He threw his hands up in frustration. “I don’t know what else to do. You’re never going to amount to anything if you keep this up.” _

Gruhenhald’s words echoed Sienna’s mind as she stared blankly at the concrete wall. A silent room with no visual stimulation was torturous as much as it was a relief. After a week in the general population of a women's prison, hearing absolutely nothing put her on edge. She wanted to bounce her leg restlessly and try and rid herself of the anxiety bubbling up within her chest, but she knew that appear even the slightest bit nervous would be a big mistake. People tended to pick on the weak links here and she had no desire to slip further down the food chain.

Sienna was quite content with where she was at the moment. She was by no means top dog, or even anywhere close really, but she wasn’t far enough down the chain to worry about being messed with. She was in that hard to obtain middle where people respected her enough not to mess with her, but not so respected that she was seen as a threat. Sienna kept her head down and waited for an opportunity get out.

When the guards knocked on her cell this morning she thought that this might be her chance. After slapping cuffs and chains onto her hands and ankles, thoughts of a transfer danced in her head. Despite the security increasing during transfers, it was still one of the best times to hatch an escape. As Sienna was shuffled along, she ran scenarios through her mind over and over again. Her best bet was to try and figure a way out of the cuffs in the van and then make a run for it at a pit stop. However, before they had even gotten in the car, they seemed to reach their destination.

The guards lead her into a small room used whenever the public defender bothered to stop by and discuss her case, and not-so-kindly shoved her down into her seat. They hooked her chain to the table and left her without answering a single question Sienna threw in their faces. With nothing else to do, Sienna stared at the wall and bid her time.

A twisting feeling in her gut reminded her that there was something wrong. Whenever she had met with her lawyer, Rick, or maybe it was Nick, he had always been waiting for her. It had been twenty minutes since she sat down and she was still completely alone. Something was happening, and Sienna didn’t trust it.

A loud buzz interrupted Sienna’s increasingly wild theories. Finally, someone was being sent through. The locks clicked and the door swung open with a hiss. Even her most wild speculations couldn’t have imagined who stood behind the door. Her facade fell for a split second as she stared at her visitor.  With a smirk, he swaggered over to where she was sitting.

“A bit drab, don’t you think?” Tony Stark glanced around the barren room, “Think you’d go crazy looking at these things for too long. A reboot of the ‘Yellow Wallpaper’.” He took off his sunglasses and lazily tossed them onto the table. For a moment he just stared at her and seemed to size her up and down. It would be a lie if Sienna said she wasn’t doing the same thing. 

“I think you’ve got the wrong person. Usually, people who go up against Iron Man don’t come out alive.” Sienna broke the silence.

“I think I’ve found exactly who I came for.” He shot back. The low blow seemed to bounce right off him.

“Didn’t realize Iron Man got his community service hours in by visiting prisoners. Here to offer to be my pen pal?” She snapped.

“Even better. I’m here to offer you your freedom.” He smiled as her facade dropped for the second time. Sienna’s heart skipped a beat and her stomached leapt to her throat.

“What the hell are you talking about?” She asked hoarsely.

“I’m talking about the little card up your sleeve.”

“Again, what the hell are you talking about? Just because you’re a pretentious superhero doesn’t mean that you need to talk like you’re in the  _ Dark Knight Rises _ .”  Sienna tried to squash whatever hope she allowed herself to have. If he was offering her freedom, he was also demanding something enormous.

“I watched the security videos, you know, the ones that nearly got thrown out of court because they were, and I quote, ‘Obviously tampered with.’” Stark reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “You got into buildings without leaving a sign that you broke in because you didn’t break anything. Somehow you could create doorways wherever you stood.” The phone lit up and a hologram appeared. Apparently, he had been tinkering with his iPhone. The hologram displayed one of the last stores Sienna had robbed. 

_ Sienna approached the side of the building slowly. Her hood on her sweatshirt was up, but other than that, she made no attempts to disguise herself. She fiddled with the ring that was in one of her pockets, double checking, then triple checking, and then quadruple checking that it was still there. She hesitated a split second as she reached the brick wall. She always hesitated, even though she had done this hundreds of times before. Sienna slid the ring on and took a deep breath. With one hand she began to make circular motions. Nothing happened for a moment, and Sienna’s face scrunched up in concentration. Finally, small red and yellow sparks began to follow her fingers and form a haphazard circle. The lines were like static and seemed unstable.  After a few more circular motions, something started to appear within the circle: The interior of the store. Sienna took another gulping breath and then dove through the circle, which quickly closed behind her.  _

Stark waved his hand over the hologram and it disappeared. “Now, I could show you the footage from inside the store, but I think you get the gist.”

“My lawyer said that it was photoshop. Something to throw people off my trail. I did do pretty well in my photoshop class in high school,” Sienna said. Her hands were clasped tightly.

“You barely had a B.”

“That was good for my standards.”

“Well, maybe you should learn to raise your standards. I’m offering you a full-time position in Upstate New York. Everything you could ever want or ever need would be at your fingertips.”

“And what is it exactly that you want in return?”  
“Your help if we ever need it. And trust me, we will.”

“No,” Sienna said, leaning back in her seat.

“No?” Stark asked.

“No.”

“I’m offering you a new life. A clean record, great salary, and a rent-free luxury apartment. I’m offering you your freedom.”

“No, you’re offering me a different sentence. You’re asking me to turn in my orange jumpsuit and exchange it for a latex one.”

“Latex isn’t required.”

“No.”

“Not even if I say pretty please?”

“No.”

“Fine,” Tony’s face turned serious. “I can’t force you to join us, but you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“I’m content right here.” Sienna insisted.

“For the next ten to twenty years?” Stark asked.

“I’m a nonviolent offender, I’ll get parole before then.”

“You might be nonviolent but your list of convictions is taller than I am.”

“It’s not much of an accomplishment to be taller than you are though, is it?”

“Short jokes, always appreciated.” Stark stood up and put his sunglasses back on. He stared at Sienna and sized her up and down just like he did in the beginning. Sienna wondered how his perception of her changed during their little meeting. “In case you change your mind,” he reached into his pocket and gave her his business card, “on the back is a direct line to me. I’ll leave one with the guards too. Don’t worry about them tossing it or not giving you the number, I made it clear that if you wanted to place a call, you’d be placing that call.”

“Thank you, but I doubt I’ll be changing my mind.”  
“And I doubt you’ll stay happy with your decision.” With that, Tony Stark spun on his heel and rapped on the door. “This makes for a dramatic entrance but really hinders the dramatic exit,” he sighed. The door buzzed open and he walked out without turning back. A few minutes later, the guards collected Sienna and took her back to her cell.

She was hustled into the cell and given a quick pat down once they released her from the chains. Sienna rubbed the angry red marks on her wrist and glared at the floor. Her cellmate rested on the top bunk, lazily flipping through a magazine.

“Where’d you go?”

“Got a visitor.”

“Who?”

“Nobody important, just another hoop to jump through before court.”

“Anything good come outta it?”

“Nope.” Sienna glanced at the card one last time before she dropped it in the toilet. As it was flushed away she sighed, “Nothing good at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my amazing beta reader, Isabel (@isabelcantread)! She helped transform this from a complete and total mess to something that is (hopefully) enjoyable to read. While she was pointing out my obvious mistakes, she also left behind quite a few gems in the comments. I've decided that I can't possibly keep these to myself, so here are the top three Isabel quotes for this chapter. 
> 
> 1.) "yes daddy"  
> 2.) "bitch you better be pleading fff if iron man wants to be my pen pal u bet your ass i'm all for it"  
> 3.) "BITCH YOU WHAT OH MYYYY FUCIKNOHRONGOUEBWFHAWLKF"


	2. Chapter 2

A poor excuse of a meatloaf was dropped haphazardly onto Sienna’s tray. It was unusually moist and smelled like a used gym sock. Beside it sat a rock hard roll and a carton of milk. She shuffled her way down the line slowly and despite the unappetizing appearance of the meal, she was starved. Her stomach rumbled loudly and she grumbled quietly about the wait.

She dropped her tray onto the first empty table and began to scarf down her food. The table was right by one of the guard stations and made bad territory for gangs. It was usually scattered with the handful of prisoners who held no allegiance or were fresh meat. Ever since the meeting with Tony Stark, Sienna had been on edge. She knew eventually that the word would get out and she’d find herself jumping from respected but not threatening to a damn big threat. She had decided that until the danger had passed, Sienna would keep herself within the eyesight of the guards as much as possible. She didn’t expect them to protect her, she knew she’d get beaten up eventually, she was just hoping that they’d intervene before she was dead.

With the fork halfway to her lips, she froze. Sienna could feel stares burning the back of her neck. She set the fork down and gripped the tray tightly. Either she had suddenly become the most beautiful woman in the world, or the word had gotten out. She kept her gaze down as another tray slammed down on the table. Another prisoner, Anita, dropped down in the seat beside her.

“So,” Anita began, reaching for Sienna's bread roll, “Word round here is that you gotta  pretty special visitor, huh?” Sienna kept her mouth shut. “Don’t talk much I see. That’s okay. I like my bitches to keep their mouths shut.”

“I don’t want trouble. I keep my head down and I stay outta everyone’s way.” Sienna said.

“I thought I just said that I like my bitches to keep their mouth  _ shut.”  _ Anita leaned in close to Sienna’s ear.

“Good thing I’m not your bitch,” Sienna said. As soon as the word left her lips Sienna wanted to slap to herself. She realized that there was no realistic way to get out of this other than joining Anita’s gang or getting the shit beat out of her, but without thinking about it, Sienna had made her choice.

“You’re gonna wish you were by the time I’m done with you,” Anita snarled. “You’ll be crawling on your hands and knees begging to be my bitch.” Anita flipped what was left of Sienna’s meal onto the floor and stood at her full height. Sienna jumped up and waited for Anita to make the first hit, but before she could a guard began to walk over to where they were standing. Anita shoved her finger in Sienna’s face and said, “This isn’t over, cunt.” Before backing away and stalking over to her own table. 

Sienna watched as Antia threw her own food on the table that belonged to her gang. Anyone could tell that she was angry by the way her arms were flailing about. Sienna turned back to the mess on her own table and closed her eyes. Undoubtedly, by the end of the hour, the whole prison would know that she’d made a new enemy. Sienna’s only hope was that they’d leave her alive when they were through.

It took three days for anything to happen. Sienna had practically become a shadow to any guard she could find, but her luck had run out today. Stuck on laundry duty Sienna had lost the watchful eyes of the guards. She tossed warm towels into a cart and forced herself to keep moving, despite the footsteps the echoed behind her. She knew what was coming. She didn’t need to watch it too.

A forceful shove sent her flying to the floor. Immediately, Sienna curled up into a ball and did her best to cover her head. She was kicked mercilessly by several women, all of whom were yelling various things:

“Bitch! You think you better than us?”

“Where’s your little buddy now, huh?!”

“Ain’t got Iron Man to protect you in here, slut!”

When they’d had their fill of kicking her, two of them grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her to her feet. The others took turns punching her in the stomach and in the face. Sienna made the mistake of trying to kick them away once, and had her head slammed up against the dryer. Her vision blurred and she felt blood drool from her mouth. There was piercing ringing in her ears and she was dropped to the floor.

She watched as they rushed past her, their white shoes scuffing against the floor. A guard sprinted past her and after the other inmates. Someone touched her shoulder and another guard was gently rolling her from her back onto her side. The guard’s mouth was moving but the sounds were muffled and distant. The guard had her radio out and was yelling into it, but what she was saying Sienna never knew as she slipped out of consciousness...

...The sound of a cart being wheeled past brought Sienna back into the world. A pounding headache came to her attention next. Her entire body was screaming in agony, and each injury was fighting for her attention. She let out a groan and writhed in a vain attempt to escape the pain.

“Good, you’re awake.” A nurse or a doctor, Sienna didn’t know, approached her bedside. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flashlight. He roughly forced her eyes open and checked her pupils. “You’ve got a nasty concussion, a couple of busted ribs, split lip, two black eyes, and plenty of bruising. I thought you were lucky at first, they went easy on you. Usually, my patients end up dead if they mess with the wrong people.”

“Why…” She panted, “Am...I not...lucky...anymore?”

“I guess they weren’t satisfied with giving you a beating. Rumor has it that you’ve got a hit out on ya’. Don’t know what the hell you did, and I don’t care to find out, but you messed up big. They’re putting you in solitary once you get out of here, but for right now you’re my problem.” He let out an annoyed sigh, “Now I’ve got to worry about making sure there’s always a guard with you on top of everything else I’ve got to do.” He walked away, muttering under his breath the entire time.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s always like that.” A voice to the left of Sienna startled her. She jerked her head to see who else was in the room and cried out in pain as her muscles resisted the movement.  An older guard was sitting across the room.

“Thought....doctors….were supposed...to have a...good...bedside...manner.” She forced out.

“Not when your patients are criminals,” The guard said. He said it lightly but it still stung. In here she was less than human, she was just another inmate.

“..Yeah...I guess.” She replied quietly. Sienna closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the fluorescent lights above her. She wanted to scream or punch something. She was just fine, she had been just fine until Stark came along and ruined everything. She had everything all planned out. She was going keep her head down, her mouth shut, and her attitude positive. With that, she’d get early parole due to good behavior, and then she’d skip town. This time she’d make an attempt at keeping her identity a secret.

Tony Stark had ruined everything, and she hated him for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to the incredible @isabelcantread for editing this hot mess. This story would be completely unreadable if it weren't for her. This chapter was pretty short, but it was needed for plot reasons. As with the first chapter, I'll leave you with the top three Isabel quotes for this chapter!
> 
> 1.) "b nice to him whatd he do to u :'( hes just a meatloaf trying to live his best life but u attack him :'(( ur just like his father"  
> 2.) "that's .. that's pretty gay"  
> 3.) "im a slut for correcting YOUR errors"


	3. Chapter 3

Sienna laid on her cot, tracing imaginary patterns in the ceiling. After a her stint in the infirmary, she had been sent to a ten-by-seven foot cell where she spent 22 hours a day. If she was lucky, she got an hour or two out in the yard. Even when she was out the yard though, she didn’t have the energy to do anything. She just sprawled out in the grass and let the sun warm her in ways her starchy blanket couldn’t.

It was hard to even tell how much time had passed. The first week or two so she did a decent job. She guessed based off of meal times and when she felt tired. One day after falling asleep after lunch, she woke up and lost all sense of time. She grew frustrated with herself, and then she just felt exhausted.

She slept through most of the day now. When the guards dropped off her meals, she’d wake up long enough to eat and then immediately go back to bed. Just keeping her eyes open took an incredible amount of strength. Even when she was awake, she felt like she was in a daze. She blinked slowly, and lost whatever pattern she’d been tracing.

_ “I’m content right here.” Sienna insisted. _

_ “For the next ten to twenty years?” Tony asked. _

_ “I’m a nonviolent offender, I’ll get parole before then.” _

_ “You might be nonviolent but your list of convictions is taller than I am.” _

Stark’s words seemed to echo louder and louder in her ears. She could’ve suffered through the sentence before, sure. Living in general population was tough, but she had made it work so far. This, though? Being completely and utterly alone without any sort of visual stimulation or distractions? Who knows how long she’d been in here, but she’d already lost her energy and motivation. Sienna was becoming a dull, watered down version of herself. The idea of losing who she was as a person terrified her. That fear sparked motivation deep in her chest for the first time in a long time.

Sienna struggled to her feet and stumbled to the doorway. “Guard! Guard!” She shouted, banging her fists on the door.

“That’s enough! Shut up!” A guard whacked her baton against the door, “quit makin’ yourself a nuisance.”

“I need to make a phone call.”

“You can call during your hour in the yard.” The guard snapped.

“No! No, I need to make it now.” Desperation tugged at Sienna. If she waited, she could lose the energy and never make the call. “Stark said I could call. He said I could call him whenever I wanted. I need to call him.”

“Stark may have said you can call him, but I say  _ when _ you can.”

“Please,” Sienna begged, “it’s important. I have to speak to him.” The guard stared at Sienna for a moment, and her decision seemed to waver. 

“Please,” Sienna whispered.

“Fine.” The guard snapped, “but only because I can’t stand to hear you screeching all day.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Sienna suddenly felt like crying. She took a beating without shedding a tear, but a phone call might blow the dam.  
“Whatever, just shut up. I’m goin’ to talk to my supervisor.” The guard snapped. Sienna waited impatiently, pressed close to the door. She wanted to see them coming as soon as possible. Her fingers drummed anxiously against the door. With every passing minute she grew more and more uneasy. It seemed like hours before Sienna heard footsteps. Squishing her face against the slot they shove her food through, she was able to see the guard who promised her the call, and presumably her supervisor.

“Step back, hands on the back wall with your legs spread.” The supervisor barked. Sienna obeyed without question. The supervisor gave her a quick pat down. “Turn around,” he demanded. He slammed the cuffs onto her wrist and attached them to a chain around her waist. The chain also connected to the cuffs the other guard was attaching to her ankles.

“I ain’t gonna tolerate any funny business, ya’ got that? Ya' make one move and I ain’t gonna hesitate.” He said, patting the gun on his belt. “I said, you got that?”

“Yes, sir. I’m not trying to pull anything, sir. I just need a phone call.”  
“Shut the hell up. I don’t want a word outta you until you get that phone to ya’ head.” He snapped. Sienna nodded. “I ain’t takin’ the time to try an’ get you out to where the phones are for the general pop’, so you’ll be takin’ ya’ call in my office. An’ I’ll say it again, you try’n pull _anything_ you’ll be leavin’ in a body bag.”

Sienna nodded again. The supervisor grabbed her roughly by the elbow and pushed her forward. She stumbled out of tiny cell and shot a thankful glance at the other guard. The supervisor walkedat a pace that Sienna struggled to keep up with. The chains around her ankles heavily restricted her movement, but the supervisor obviously didn’t care. His office was within the guard’s station, and even if Sienna tried to escape, she’d have to push through at least six guards.

The supervisor shoved her down into hard wooden chair in front of his desk. He moved to the other side and sat in a much more lavish seat. He reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a card. Stark’s card. “Your little buddy made sure each an’ every station had a copy. Even gave one to the warden,” the supervisor shook his head. “I ain’t got a clue why he’s so interested in a piece a garbage like you.”

Sienna bit her tongue and watched as he dialed the number. He seemed to be taking his time, pausing between every number to look at the card. Once the phone began to ring he handed it to her. Sienna had to awkwardly curl up so that her hand could hold the phone to her face. The chains prevented her from raising her hand too far. As it rang against her cheek, Sienna had the sudden urge to hang up. She wasn’t even entirely sure why she was calling.

“This is Friday. Please state your name and business.” A woman’s soft voice welcomed her.  _ So much for a direct line,  _ Sienna thought.

“My name is Sienna Mills. I’m calling about, uh, a meeting I had with Mr. Stark.” She stammered. Her own voice sounded foreign to her ears.

“Ah, yes, Mr. Stark has been expecting your call. I will patch you through.” Friday spoke with a slight accent, Sienna realized.

It only took a split second for Stark’s voice to flit through the phone. “I thought you said you were content dressing like a construction cone,” He snarked in a way that wasn’t entirely unfriendly.

“Yeah, well, I realized I was more of a winter.” Falling back into casual conversation was easier than she thought it would be.

“Am I to assume you’ve changed your mind on latex?”  
“Thought you said that it wasn’t required,” Sienna chuckled.

“Temporary offer. You made me wait, I make you wear the latex.” He laughed with her.

“How...how long did I make you wait?” She asked quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“How long has it been since you visited me?”

“About three months...Why don’t you remember?” He responded.

“Lost track of time,” she gave an empty laugh. “Solitary does that, I guess.”

“You’ve been in solitary for twelve weeks?” Stark sounded angry.  
“No, must’ve been about ten. I spent two weeks in the infirmary. Apparently when someone asks you to join a gang you’re not supposed to say no.”

“Are you okay?” Stark’s seemingly genuine concern surprised her.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m flying out. I’ll be there in forty-five minutes.”

“Isn’t the flight time from New York to Chicago like three hours?”

“Not if you’re flying with in a Stark Jet.” He sounded smug, “Put whoever’s in charge on the phone. I’ll let them know you’ll be checking out early.”

Sienna nodded as if he could see her, and then shook her head at herself. “He wants to speak to you.” She handed the supervisor the phone.

“This is Lieutenant Logan Thompson.” He barked into the phone. Everything that came out of Thompson’s mouth seemed harsh and angry.

“...”

“No, sir, this is not a military prison. However, we do use the ranks for our officers.”

“...”

“I had not heard of any plea deal. I cannot just let-”

“....”

“Yes, sir.”

“...”

“I understand, sir.”

“...”

“No, sir, calling the president would be unnecessary, I agree.”

“...”

“Warden Sinclair, I wasn’t aware Mr. Stark patched you through.”

“...”

“Yes of course, sir.”

“...”

“Yes, sir. I will arrange for her personal belongings to be gathered.”

“...”

“I will do my best to expedite her release, but I can’t make any promises she’ll be out by tonight .”

“...”

“No, no, I understand, sir. Yes, sir. I’ll have her out by noon, sir.”

“...”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. You have a nice day, now.” Thompson hung up the phone. He took a deep, shuddering breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. His beady eyes glared at Sienna. “You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that don’cha?”

“Yes,  _ sir _ .” Sienna couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. Thompson’s glare somehow deepened as he began to punch a number into the phone.

“Thompson, here. I need an immediate release of an inmate. Direct orders from the Warden. Inmate’s name is: Sienna Mills. Yes, I’m sure….”

Sienna tuned out Thompson’s voice. She sat back in her seat and stared up at the ceiling. Biting her lip, she began to question her decision.  _ Was it really the right choice? Did she really want to get tangled up in this whole superhero mess?  _ Authority figures never really sat right with her, and she was sure Stark would be a demanding (aka, a jerk) boss.

Plus, it’s not like she really had much job experience. Sure, she could get in and out of buildings no problem, but that was about it. Sienna didn’t know anything about self defence or fighting. She was a second rate escape artist who happened to have a penchant for jewelry and money that wasn’t hers.  _ What’s going to happen when Stark realizes that I’m not going to be able to keep up with the Avengers?  _ she mused.

The door to Thompson’s office slammed open abruptly and Sienna’s derailing train of thought was brought to a halt. Another guard stood in the doorway anxiously. He looked like if Thompson even breathed the edge of an angry word he’d faint.

“I’ve, uhm, I’ve got her things.” The guard, who Sienna had dubbed McAnxious, gestured awkwardly to where she was sitting.

“Set ‘em on my desk.” Thompson said and immediately returned to his phone call. McAnxious hesitated in the doorway, nervously glancing from Sienna to Thompson and then back to Sienna. It was almost like watching a deer in the headlights. McAnxious seemed incapable of moving. Then with an apparent burst of courage, McAnxious nearly threw the box onto Thompson’s desk and scurried out of the room, slamming the door even harder than the first time. Sienna bit her lip in a vain attempt to silence her laughter.

“Yeah, go ahead, laugh it up,” Thompson hung up the phone. “The only reason he’s afraid of you is ‘cause he knows you’re a freak. Tony Stark don’t collect nobody unless they’re freaks. He’s probably worried you’ll go all Scarlet Witch on us an’ blow us all to smithereens.”

“Smithereens,” Sienna said softly. “That’ll get you a few points in a game of Scrabble.”

“You can’t take nothin’ serious, can you?” Thompson slammed his hands on his desk.

“Apparently not.” Sienna replied. Thompson scowled at her and then went back to making calls. Sienna leaned back in her seat again and began to trace patterns in the ceiling of Thompson’s office just like she had in her cell. She was half asleep when Thompson spoke up again.

“It’s people like you that are ruinin’ the world,” He snapped. “You think you’re so smart, but you ain’t gonna do anythin’ worthwhile! You sit there and ya’ steal an’ lie an’ cheat, but somehow you still think you’re better than an honest man like me. What do you got, huh? What do you got that’s worthwhile? Everythin’ you have is sittin’ in a box right here.” He shook the box on his desk aggressively.

Sienna felt like a child getting reprimanded. Part of her wanted to retort with something sarcastic and angry, but the other part of her wanted to scurry off and lick her wounds. The angry, sarcastic side of her won out, and just as she was about to insult his receding hairline, the door to Thompson’s office slammed open again.

McAnxious stood in the doorway, somehow managing to look even more nervous than before. “Mr. Stark is here!” He squeaked.

“Tell him to wait outside my office and I’ll-”

“No need for that,  _ Lieutenant. _ ” Stark took a gulp of his coffee before dropping himself down in the chair next to Sienna’s. “Does this place have any comfortable seating?”

Thompson gave a sickeningly fake smile, “Mr. Stark-”

“Why is she still dressed like a pumpkin? I told you to get her ready to leave ASAP.” Stark interrupted again.

“You told me to have her out by noon. It’s only,” Thompson glanced at the clock, “10:27.”

“Yeah well, I’m an entitled rich guy. I want her out now.” Stark jumped up and began digging around in his back pocket. He pulled out a slightly crushed bag of trail mix and poured some into his mouth.

“We’re still working on the release papers.” Thompson explained.

“Work faster.” Stark spoke with his mouth full. Thompson’s grin was still frozen on his face, but it looked like something had died in his eyes. Either the man had lost all will to live, or he had snapped and was about to jump Stark. Stark didn’t seem to mind. He just kept staring at Thompson, chewing loudly.

“I’ll call in another guard and have her change into her personal items.” Thompson’s grin never left his face as stood up and walked out of the office.

“You seemed to have triggered quite the reaction from him.” Sienna said.  
“Yeah, it’s called the Stark effect. Want some?” He held out the bag of trail mix. Sienna jerked the chains in a way that said: _Hello?! I can’t get my hands to my face, dumbass._

“I’ll pour it in your mouth.” Stark offered.

“No.”

“Your loss. This is Pepper’s trail mix.”

“No.”

“She replaces the raisins with chocolate chips.”

“No.”

“You’re no fun.” Stark shoveled what was left of the trail mix into his mouth.

“You never really told me what I was getting myself into when I accepted your offer.” Sienna said. She watched him carefully, hoping that he’d give something away with his body language. Unfortunately, he seemed as nonchalant as ever.

“Making me talk shop already? You’re really no fun.”

“You’re deflecting.”

“I’m stalling, there’s a difference.” He gave her a pointed look, “we’ll talk more once we get on the jet. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t put it past the walrus out there to eavesdrop.”

While Sienna could understand why he was reluctant to discuss information within the prison walls, she still sulked like a child who’d just been told to eat dinner before dessert. She drummed her fingers against her leg before forcing her hands to be still. Sienna didn’t want Stark to know just how nervous she was. It seemed like an eternity passed before Thompson returned with a female guard.

“Officer Miles will be taking Ms. Mills to change.” Thompson tossed the package to Miles. “Meanwhile,” he grinned at Stark, “you and I have got some paperwork to fill out.”

Officer Miles pulled Sienna to a standing position and walked her out of the room. She was much more gentle than Thompson, and made sure that her pace wasn’t to fast for Sienna. Sienna was torn between thanking her for being a decent human being or keeping the cool and edgy persona going. When Miles carefully removed the cuffs and chains Sienna sighed and said a gruff, “Thank you.”

Miles just gave a small smile, and shut the bathroom door, leaving Sienna alone. Being enclosed in a small space made Sienna’s heart quicken and her hands shake. She tore through the box and changed as quickly as she possibly could. As she pulled her pants up something fell to the floor with a clink. Sienna glanced down and saw her ring. It was wrapped up in a plastic baggy along with the earings she had been wearing when she was arrested. The earings and the ring were the only pieces of jewelry she could prove belonged to her.

Sienna knelt down and picked it up. The ring was a gift from her grandfather. He’d passed it along to Sienna in the hopes that she’d someday find the others who wore the same ring. Apparently when she found them, they’d welcome her home and into their family. She’d never found them and turned to a life of crime with the little tricks he had taught her before his untimely death.

_ I wonder what he would think of me now,  _ Sienna thought. She stuffed the ring in her pocket and tossed the orange jumpsuit into the box that once contained her measly belongings. She knocked on the door to let Miles know she was coming out. The last thing she wanted was to be shot by a startled guard when she was so close to freedom. As she stepped out of the bathroom she stuck her arms out, expecting to be cuffed.

“That’s okay, I don’t think they’re necessary.” Miles said. Sienna stared at her for a second with her arms still raised. The words didn’t seem to process.

“Okay.” Sienna said dumbly and dropped her arms. Miles smiled at her and began to guide her back to Thompson’s office. Miles’ hand was soft on Sienna’s arm and she was shocked to realize how much she craved contact with another person. Despite only knowing the guard’s last name, Sienna felt the urge to throw her arms and Miles and give her a hug.

“I think she’s all ready to go, sir.” Miles told Thompson.

“We’re good on this end.” Thompson sounded annoyed. Apparently his hopes of delaying her release with a mound of paperwork didn’t work.

“Alright kid,” Stark stood up and grinned at her. “You ready for the first day of your new life?” Sienna paused before responding.

“No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @isabelcantread for editing this story! She's somehow managed to edit three chapters without bursting into frustrated flames. The top Isabel quotes for the chapter have somehow gotten weirder this time around.
> 
> 1.) "holy shit is this story actually just about me staying up until midnight thinking about the human centipede even though i've never actually watched that movie"  
> 2.) "this has nothing to do with the story but i was eating a chip and it got sucked into my mouth so fast that it scared me and i like did a reverse Kirby move so the chip went flying out of my mouth across the room"  
> 3.) "his receding hairline and lack of pussy"


	4. Chapter 4

Despite desperately attempting to still seem apathetic towards everything, Sienna couldn’t help the childish expressions on her face as they flew over the countryside. The ground was a blur of greens and browns. She pressed herself up against the glass and was so engrossed in the view she had nearly forgotten she wasn’t flying alone.

Stark had a drink in one hand and was lazily scrolling on his high-tech phone with the other when he sat down across from her. He yawned and tossed the phone on the seat beside him.

“Can we wait to play twenty questions until after I’ve had a nap?”

“No.”

“That’s your favorite word, isn’t it?”

“...No,” Sienna responded.

Stark let out a loud groan. “Alright, what is it that you want to know?”

“What am I doing here? Why do you want me on your team? How the hell am I supposed to help you? Wha-” Stark cut her off with a wave of his hand.

“When I said we were going to play twenty questions I didn’t mean that you needed to throw twenty questions in my face.”

“If you didn’t want a bunch of questions you probably should’ve, I dunno, maybe gave me some information? Just a little, maybe? It’s not like this is going to change my whole life or anything.”

“The point is appreciated, the sass is not.” Tony gave herhalf-heartedted glare, “You’re here because I saw potential in you. You can make gateways to other places, right?”

Sienna nodded.

“It’s maybe not the most exciting or advanced power, but it’s a power nonetheless. Bruce and I were talking and we both agreed it looked like you’re just tapping the surface. We want to study what you do and how you do it, and make it better than it has been before.”

“So you’re using me as a lab rat?” Sienna huffed.

“Only if you keep interrupting,” he snapped. “We got your records from your high school, and despite testing abnormally high, you barely graduated. I think you’re a stubborn kid who knew that there were bigger things to worry about. Unfortunately, you never really figured out what was important, did you?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, “With the right training and the loss of that attitude, I think you’ll be a valuable asset to our team.”

“You’re trusting me to become an Avenger based off of a gut feeling?” Sienna asked.

“No, I’m trusting you to become a glorified intern. You’ve still got training wheels on, Houdini.”

“Firstly, don’t call me that. And secondly, what do you mean glorified intern? How the hell do you intern in this situation? Am I supposed to go on coffee runs while there are bombs falling?” She snapped.

“Basically,” he shrugged and Sienna shot him a dirty look. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop. You’ll be training in hand-to-hand combat and learning how to use whatever weapons we assign to you. You’ll also go through some physical testing and studies while we try to figure out how you can create the doorways. It’ll essentially be an extreme Girl Scout camp. You’ll even have a roomie, sort of.”

“What do you mean I’ll have a roommate? Aren’t you rich enough to make enough bedrooms for everyone?” Sienna groaned. Despite hating being in solitary, she hated having a roommate even more.

“Calm down, you’re just on the same floor as each other.  You’ve got your own bedroom, Houdini.”

“I told you not to call me that. Who’s the roommate?”

“Spiderman.” Stark sat back as if expecting a reaction. Sienna raised an eyebrow in response. “You know, the viral sensation? He’s been all over YouTube!”

“Yeah, I spent a lot of time browsing YouTube when I was in solitary.” Sienna deadpanned.

“Okay, okay, that was dumb.”

“Yeah.”  
“Shut up.”

“I’m just agreeing with you,” Sienna defended herself.

“Don’t agree with me when I call myself dumb.”

“Don’t act dumb then.”

“Listen you brat,” Stark tried to sound stern but he was barely suppressing a grin, “I’ve got enough sass to go around. The compound doesn’t need a mini-me running around.”

“Hard to be a mini-you when we’re the same height.”

“Low blow.”

“Aren’t all blows low to you?”

“I’m taking you back to jail.”

“I want to meet Bugman first.”

“Spiderman.”

“Spiders are bugs, aren’t they?” 

“Spiders aren’t insects. They’re arachnids.”

“They’re still creepy crawlies.”

“I will admit this kid does crawl around on the ceiling occasionally,” Stark said, taking a sip of his drink. Sienna wasn’t quite sure whether or not she should take him seriously. He was harder to read than she originally thought he would be. Stark kept the same nonchalant, laid-back attitude no matter what the topic.

Before Sienna was able to bombard Stark with any more questions the jet began its descent.  Sienna pressed herself back up against the window and watched as they approached a huge building. It had the Avengers’ logo proudly displayed on the roof of the building.  _ Aren’t these things supposed to be hidden? Like a lair?  _ Sienna thought to herself.

Once they touched the ground Stark shooed her off the jet. She nearly tripped going down the stairs because she was too occupied staring at hustle and bustle all around them. Agents moved around the runway quickly. Some of them looked serious and in a rush, while others talked and laughed with their coworkers. None of them seemed to pay any mind to Sienna or Stark. Apparently, the Stark effect wears off after living with him for a while.

Stark gave her a gentle shove to keep her walking. He escorted her inside the building and into an elevator. “We scanned your thumbprints in the system already, all you need to do is press your thumb on the buttons and if you have security clearance the elevator will take you the floor. Right now you have limited access. The personal quarters are in the west wing. You’ve got free reign there. Your room is on the fifth floor, the gym is on the first and the communal living spaces are on the second and third. We’ll go over the rules for the living spaces once I show you around.”

“You’ve got rules for the living space?” Sienna raised an eyebrow.  
“Yeah, believe it or not when you put a bunch of overpowered assholes together it’s a good idea to lay out some ground rules.”

“Okay, yeah, that makes sense.”

“As I was saying,” he glared at her. “The west wing is full access other than personal quarters. Don’t go in other people’s rooms, that’s just weird.”

“That’s just common sense.”

“Not for Vision,” he sighed.

“Who?”

“I’ll make introductions later. The main building is for security and information, that’s where ninety percent of the agents work. You have very little access in the main building. You can go to the lobby and the mess hall, and that’s about it. Also, the food in the mess hall is decent but you’re better off eating in the personal quarters. The east wing is where the labs are, you’ll only have access to the upper floors when you’re called to one. The med bay is on the first floor and there’s a greenhouse there as well but it’s only open from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Don’t get locked in overnight unless you want to be drenched in water. Got it?” He spoke quickly, listing off the locations on his hands.

“That was a lot of information at once,” Sienna stated.

“I asked if you got it, not if it was a lot of information.” He said.

“Yeah, I got it.” She responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Good.” Stark ignored the attitude in her voice. He pressed the button and they began to rise. After a few seconds, they began moving to the side. Stark didn’t bother trying to suppress a grin when confusion flashed across Sienna’s face.

_ Of course, he built an elevator that can move sideways. Walking down a hallway to get to another wing is so middle class.  _ Sienna wanted to roll her eyes. The doors to the elevator opened up into a giant living room. The outside wall was made entirely of glass and offered a great view of the landscape. The center of the room had a very long L shaped couch and several cushiony armchairs as well. Mounted onto the wall was the largest TV Sienna had ever seen.

Stark interrupted Sienna’s gawking. “Ready to make some introductions?”

“Yeah,” Sienna nodded.

“So you can say something other than no?” Stark clutched his chest dramatically.

“When do I get to meet Bugman?” Sienna ignored the poor dad joke.

“It’s uh, it’s Spiderman, actually.” A voice came from the other side of the room. A teenager awkwardly fiddled with his hands as he walked towards Sienna and Stark.

“Bugs are spiders.” Sienna insisted.

“Well, they’re technic-”

“Still bugs.”

“Yeah, but that would be like calling Ironman, Tinguy.” The teenager argued.

“Tinguy.” Sienna said.

“Y-yeah, I mean, it’s not the-”

“I like it,” she turned to Stark. “Tinguy.”

“I will put you back in jail.”

“I told you I wanted to meet the bug first.”

“You just did. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200, and go back to jail.”

“He’s the bug?” she asked.

“He’s the bug.” “I’m not a bug.” They answered at the same time.

“Is he the Bugman or not?” Sienna pointed at the possible Bugman.

“I’m not the Bugman, I’m  _ Spiderman _ .”

“Do you have like, extra legs or something?”  
“What?!”

“Spiders have eight legs, don’t they? Why are you called _Spider_ man specifically?”  
“It’s not because I have eight legs.”

“That’s lame.”

“Okay, okay, enough. Introducing you two was a mistake.” Stark interrupted loudly.

“Well you didn’t really introduce us, I don’t even know Bugman’s name.” Sienna said at the same time Spiderman said, “Sorry, Mr. Stark.”

“Sienna Mills, this is Peter Parker. Peter, Sienna, Sienna, Peter.” Stark grabbed their arms and awkwardly made them shake hands. “Okay, introductions are done, and you guys can be best friends. Now, let’s maybe meet the people who have been waiting for us for fifteen minutes, huh?”

“Sorry, Mr. Stark,” Peter repeated.

“Don’t apologize for things you didn’t do,” Stark shot a look at Sienna.

“I don’t apologize for the things I  _ have  _ done.”

“I wonder why you ended up in jail.” Stark rolled his eyes.

“You were in jail?! What for?” Peter asked.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to ask someone why they got locked up?” Sienna snapped. She was suddenly aware of how comfortable she had gotten with the both of them. The ease of the conversation made her uneasy. One thing that she had learned over the years was that getting comfortable too quickly lead to things getting very uncomfortable  _ really  _ quickly.

“Uh, no, not really,” Peter mumbled.

“She got arrested for breaking and entering, grand theft auto, larceny, fraud, and assault,” Stark said. Sienna glared at him, but he just hastily pushed them down a short hall. He continued to shuffle them onto a large balcony. Several people were talking as they walked out, but most conversation quieted once they drew near.

Sienna could recognize most of them. She had watched the newscasts after the Battle of New York and the Battle of Sokovia.  Leaning casually against the balcony railing was Black Widow and Mr. Bow and Arrow (whose name escaped her). Beside them, Captain America leaned awkwardly against the railing. They had calculating looks in their eyes and they watched her carefully. At the table sat Scarlet Witch, a man who looked like he’d been dropped in a jar of red paint, and the Hulk’s boring alter ego. And finally, standing over a grill was a one armed man (who she vaguely remembered being called a terrorist on the news) and a man with overly expensive sunglasses and a weird backpack. They were the only ones who continued to speak when she walked outside.

There was an awkward moment of hesitation when she first stepped out onto the balcony. Stark shuffled her outside but then left her side to go talk to the group leaning against the railing. Peter also abandoned her to go talk to the two arguing over the grill, and Sienna was left feeling completely trapped in an open environment. Just as she was beginning to wonder if it was even worth trying to bolt out the door and escape into solitude, Stark and Captain America approached her.

“Steve Rogers,” Captain America introduced himself and reached out to shake her hand. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

“All bad things, I’m sure. I’m Sienna Mills.” She prayed her hands weren’t disgustingly sweaty.

“I always try to look for the good in people,” he glanced over at the (now three) people arguing over the grill, “I’ve gotten pretty good at it.”

“That’s...nice?” Sienna said.

“Tony assures me you’ll be a valuable member of our team. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t prove him wrong.” Rogers looked into Sienna’s eyes as if he was looking for something. Apparently, whatever he was looking for, he found. He nodded at her and walked back to his group, motioning for her to follow. Sienna glanced at Stark, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet for the duration of her conversation with Rogers. He raised an eyebrow as if to say,  _ See? That wasn’t too bad. _

She followed Rogers to where the two best spies the world had ever seen stood.  _ Are they the world’s worst spies now? Since everyone knows who they are?  _ Sienna thought to herself. She tried to push the thought out of her mind. Judging by the disapproving looks she was already getting, the spy duo would probably be the most difficult to get along with. Sienna didn’t need a bad first impression to fuel the already evident distaste they had for her.

“Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff,” Rogers gestured to the both of them, “this is Sienna.” Sienna raised her hand to shake theirs, but they kept their hands firmly at their sides, glaring at her all the while. She dropped her hand quickly and hoped the blush spreading across her face wasn’t super obvious.

“Where are you from?” Romanoff demanded, rather than asked.  
“Harview, Minnesota,” Sienna answered quickly. There was no use trying to lie or act tough and not tell her. She’d find out one way or another.

“Never heard of it,” Barton said, crossing his arms.

“I’m not offended. Half the people in Harview haven’t even heard of Harview,” Sienna attempted a joke. Nobody laughed.

“How’d you end up in Chicago?” Romanoff shot off another question.

“The stores where I grew up were too small. I wanted bigger fish to fry.”

“So you moved to Illinois?” Barton asked. Sienna bristled at his mocking tone.

“Going from a town that had barely a thousand people in it to a town with almost three million people in it was quite the jump.” She snapped.

“Why’d you start stealing?” Romanoff’s interrogation apparently wasn’t done.

“Didn’t have food or any bare necessities.” Sienna shrugged, “But as I got older it became a game.”

“A game you lost,” Romanoff said.  
“Everyone loses eventually,” Sienna defended herself.

“In this line of work losing means dying,” Romanoff countered.

“Which is why we stick together,” Rogers interjected. He gave Romanoff a look that Sienna couldn’t decipher, and she took a step back. “We lose if we fight among ourselves.” He rested his hand on Sienna’s shoulder and she had to resist the very strong urge to shrug him off. 

“Mom’s right,” Stark said, ignoring Rogers’ scowl. “Like it or not, Sienna is on the team now. Congrats Underoos, you’re no longer fresh meat.”

Peter tried to high-five the man standing next to him but was rejected. That didn’t seem to put a damper on his spirits, though.

“You’re still the baby of the Avengers,” Romanoff shouted after him.

“Awww,” Peter whined, “c’mon Naaaaaat.,

“Yeah Nat, c’mon, he’s more like a toddler,” the man beside the grill said.

“Leave him alone, Sam,” Rogers sighed.

“He’s right for once in his life and you tell him to shut up?” The man at Peter’s side said.

“Enough, Bucky,” Rogers said at the same time Sam yelled, “Hey!”

“I said you were right!” Bucky yelled back.  
“Damn right, I was right! I’m right about a lot of things. Peter being a little shit is just one of the many things I happen to be right about.”

“Leave the kid out of your dumb arguments,” Rogers warned.

“Alright, alright, Mom’s coming to the rescue.” Sam put his hands up in surrender before turning back to the grill.

“Steve isn’t my mom,” Peter tried to argue. Sienna hoped that she’d be introduced to Sam next. He seemed like a potential friend. Or at the least, a potential acquaintance she could make fun of people with. She wasn’t too sure of Bucky, however. He seemed comfortable around Sam and Peter, but he glared at her the same way Romanoff and Barton did. Apparently, she wasn’t going to find the trust Stark held in her anywhere else. Unfortunately for her, however, she was steered in the opposite direction. Stark and Rogers escorted her to the table where the rest of the team sat.

The three sitting down seemed the most relaxed out of the group. They all offered Sienna a small smile as she approached. Scarlet Witch stood up first and leaned across the table to shake Sienna’s hand.

“I’m Wanda Maximoff.” An accent coated her voice. “Welcome to the Avengers. I promise it is not so overwhelming as it seems.”

“Thank you,” Sienna said sincerely.

“I’m Bruce Banner,” the man to her left introduced himself. He shook her hand quickly and sat back down, obviously engrossed in whatever it was on his tablet screen.

“Don’t mind him,” the all red man said. “He’s just busy with his work. I’m Vision. It’s nice to meet you.” Vision shook her hand, which was surprisingly cool to the touch.

“It’s...uh, nice to meet you too,” Sienna said.

“Vision is my son.” Stark blurted out. Sienna nearly snapped her neck with how quickly she turned to face him.

“What.”

“I created him.”

“ _ We _ created him.” Banner sighed, never looking up from the tablet.

“We co-parent.”

“I’m pretty sure Vision would be much different if he was actually raised by you,” Rogers cut in.

“He’d be a lot cooler.”

“He would be a lot more arrogant,” Wanda said.

“I do agree with Wanda,” Vision glanced over at the woman at his side before turning to look at Sienna. “While Mr. Stark and Mr. Banner helped create me, neither raised me. I was made from an A.I. and thus born an adult.”

“Okay…” Sienna nodded as if she understood anything he just said.

“You’ll get used to it all out eventually.” Banner finally looked up from his tablet. “Don’t expect to ever understand a thing that goes on around here. People don’t realise how much chaos fuels this place.”

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind,” Sienna said. Banner smiled quickly before turning back to his tablet. 

“Burgers are done!” Sam announced loudly. He carried a tray piled high with patties over to the table.

“Yeah, overdone,” Bucky muttered behind him.

Sam ignored Bucky as he set the tray on the table. Everyone instantly began to gravitate towards the food. “There’s buns and toppings inside on the counter, why don’t you make yourself useful for once and go get them?” Bucky looked at Sam like he wanted to punch him off the balcony, but did as Sam suggested. Peter trailed after Bucky while trying to convince him that putting a fried egg on top of a burger was actually delicious. Bucky did not seem convinced.

“Sam this is-” Rogers began.

“Yeah, I know, the new girl, Sienna. You’ve been doing introductions for thirty minutes and Tony isn’t exactly the quietest person around.”

“I can’t take offense to that, but I will.”

“Do you hear yourself sometimes, man? That didn’t make any sense.”

“It doesn’t have to make any sense, I’m Tony Stark.”

“You’re loud and annoying,” Sam insisted.

“Aren’t ‘loud and annoying’ and ‘Tony Stark’ synonyms?” Sienna cut in.

“She gets it,” Sam said, aggressively pointing at Sienna. “She gets it, and I like and accept the new girl already.”

“You still haven’t accepted me,” Peter whined from behind them. He was carrying a single pack of buns while Bucky carried everything else.

“You still haven’t hit puberty yet,” Sam responded, earning laughs from everyone around the table. Even Rogers let out a snicker at the low blow. Stark reached to give Peter a comforting pat on the shoulder as Peter turned as red as the tomato slices Bucky was setting on the table. 

“Listen it’s almost 7:30 at night and the only thing I’ve eaten today is a hoho and half a pastrami sandwich, so if I don’t get these burgers into my body I’m probably going to die,” Barton loudly interrupted the laughter.

“Clint, you’re probably going to die anyway,” Romanoff said.

“Yeah, but I want to die with a full stomach.”

“I can respect that,” Stark nodded. He gestured for everyone to take a seat at the table. Sienna hesitated for a minute so that she could watch where everyone ended up. Unsurprisingly, they sat pretty much in the same groups they were in when she walked onto the balcony. She took her seat beside Stark and the one person she hadn’t met yet, Bucky. He watched her carefully as she sat down, and didn’t really seem bothered by the fact that staring was generally considered rude.

“Bucky Barnes,” he said quietly, reaching across the table to grab the pickles. 

“Sienna Mills,” she felt like all she had said today was her name.  _ Sienna Mills this, Sienna Mills that. Sienna Mills, Sienna Mills, Sienna Mills. If I hear my own name one more time today I’m changing it.  _

“Pass the ketchup, please.” The conversation was clearly over.  _ He’s not much of a talker,  _ Sienna thought to herself.  _  That’s alright though, Stark blabbers enough for the both of them.  _

Sienna watched the people around her split off into several different conversations. And despite being completely surrounded by people, Sienna felt completely alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My incredible beta reader @isabelcantread has blessed the world with her amazing comments once again! Here are the top three from this chapter!
> 
> 1.) "is this a fuckin callout?? huh?? you wanna tango?? i'll fucking waltz all over your city slicking ass okay?? you thought you could face me?? and my 199 population brethren?? well think again hot shot bc ur goin down"  
> 2.) "fuckking sick burn dude oh mann what a scorcher"  
> 3.) "what a fucking mint chip girl ugh"


End file.
